Travel industry hopes light installations make San Francisco shine

The annual holiday tree lighting ceremony in San Francisco’s financial district headlined by 49ers players and singer Carly Rae Jepsen this evening will not be the only light installation brightening up the city.

Throughout San Francisco's neighborhoods, light art installations and events are being promoted to create a citywide gallery of lights in the hopes of shining a spotlight on the city during the holidays and warming it up throughout the dreary winter months.

They include the Bay Lights, a 12-story kinetic sculpture at the Civic Center, a temporary 24-foot-tall lighted metal sculpture in Hayes Valley and James Turrell’s Three Gems structure in the de Young Museum sculpture garden in Golden Gate Park. On Friday, a walking tour led by the Black Rock Arts Foundation will lead anyone interested on a tour of the installations.

The San Francisco Travel Association has packaged all these up in a new campaign that it’s calling “Illuminate SF.” The organization said it hopes the campaign will give tourists another reason to visit the city throughout the winter months and catch on as a bigger movement in years to come.

“If the enthusiasm we’ve been experiencing is any indication, Illuminate SF will likely become one of San Francisco’s must-do annual activities during the winter months," said Lisa Hasenbalg, SF Travel's director of arts and culture marketing. "There are already light installations planned for 2014, 2015 and 2016."

The installations will serve to complement the city's many lighting ceremonies. Along with the tree lighting at 555 California, there’s also the Union Street Fantasy of Lights festival and lighting at San Francisco International Airport happening this weekend, followed by the Parol Lantern festival and parade in Jesse Square.

Other lighting ceremonies that took place last month include the annual Embarcadero lighting and Pier 39 tree lighting celebrations, as well as the lightings at Ghirardelli Square, Union Square and Powell Street.

While tonight’s financial district lighting ceremony will not be the only one, it’s certainly the largest and most star-studded. Former 49er and NFL legend Ronnie Lott and 49ers Marcus Lattimore and Alex Boone will do the honors at the 7th annual event, which will be accompanied by a musical performance from Grammy-nominated singer Carly Rae Jepsen.